Shoulder pad



Nov. 21, 1950 LQPATQ 2,530,393

I SHOUFDER PAD Filed May 16, 1949 INVENTOR.

Patented Nov. 21, 1950 SHOULDER PAD Harold Lopato, New York, N. Y., assignor to Majestic Shoulder Pad Corp, New York, N. Y., a

corporation of New York Application May 16, 1949, Serial No. 93,532

This invention relates .Shculcier pads.

fieretofore, it was the practice to manufacture and cut the pad substantially along a center line which provided a vertical line at right angles to the horizontal shoulder line which did not permit the cut edge of the pad to be sewn along a curved shoulder line in garments as desired by designers and finishers in the trade. It is known that shoulder pads are used in garments for the pur: pose of lifting the shoulders of a garment, thus greatly enhancing the appearance of such garments; therefore, the importanc of the correctly c ruc d is apparent.-

.Should r a as h y are being manufactured today, do not adapt themselves readily to the reuir m ts o a t W t d l ult n laborious cutting operations so that they will be in correct alinement with the garments curved shoulder line.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a blank (formed from two flexible joined panels) from which shoulder pads can be manufactured which will produce an outside edge making with the horizontal shoulder line an angle different from a vertical angle in contrast with the present shoulder pad which permitted only a substantial right-angle out.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide shoulder pad blanks constructed in to improvements in such a manner that the shoulder pads, after being manufactured from the said blanks, are cut in half, thus producing two single shoulder pads, one for each shoulder, which by this one operation provides a cut edge on each shoulder pad which is at other than a right-angle, namely less than 90 with respect to the horizontal shoulder line.

Another object of this invention is to provide a blank made from two flexible panels, each panel having a sewing edge shaped in such a manner that when the panels are seamed together at the sewing edges, a hump-shaped blank will be formed. g

A still further object of the present invention is to provide in the manufacture of a pair of shoulder pads a substantially hump-shaped blank made up of two flexible panels seamed together and to which the conventional filler and inner lining is secured by conventional stitching; the shoulder pads being formed by cutting the manufactured unit along a line at right angles to the seam.

These and other objects and certain advantageous features are accomplished by the 3 Claims. (01. 2-263) novel and practical construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter disclosed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, constituting an essential part of the disclosure, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a panel embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a View of the panel shown in Fig. 1, folded along a transverse medial line forming an acute angle;

Fig. ,3 is a top plan view of two. panels of a type illustrated in Fig. l, seamed together;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational View of the seamed panels, shown in Fig. 3, folded along the seam line;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of a complete unit according to the invention, before being cut in half .to form two separate pads, one for each shoulder;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken through line 6-6 of Fig. 5 and comprises one of the shoulder pads thus formed;

Fig. 7 is a front elevational view of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a bottom view of a shoulder pad constructed according to the invention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the panel 55 has conventional arcuate edges 5!, notch 52 and upper edge extensions 53. However, it is to be particularly noted that the upper edge 54 is raised at its center portion 55 forming a hump-like appearance while the end portions 56 may be curved. Thus, the upper edge 54, at least at its center portion 55, is substantial- 1y arcuately shaped, that is convex. The upper edge 24, when the panel 56 is folded on a transverse medial line 57 to form the fold 58, makes with the latter an acute angle a.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, two of the panels 50 are overlapped at their upper edges 54 as seen at 59 and seamed together by stitches 6%. As clearly seen in Fig. 5, the panels 50, when joined by the seam 6B, constitute a blank 82 having a convexity Bl. end portions 56 of each panel may be identical or dissimilar or assume any desired shape, depending upon the utilitarian character or type of finished shoulder pads desired. Furthermore, the upper edge 54 and raised portion 55 may be varied as desired.

Utilizing the blank 62, shown in Fig. 3, to make up the double shoulder pad unit 61 (Fig. 5), the filler 65 and lining 66 are stitched to blank 62 by stitching 68. Then unit 61 is out along a line 69 which is coincident with the section line 6-6 and which is the same as the aligned medial The edges 5!, extensions 52 and mates lines 53 of the two joined panels 50. There are thus produced two identical shoulder pads, one of which is shown in Fig. 7. On examination of Fig. 8, it will clearly be made apparent that a definite curved cut edge as is produced by the invention. This curve 69 in certain materials is accentuated by virtue of the pressures created along the seam line 68.

As clearly seen in Fig. 7, the cut edge 69 makes an acute angle with the upper seamed edge 60, being similar to the angle a in Fig. 2. This is in contrast with the conventional shoulder pad in which the upper edge is substantially at rightangles to a transverse medial line.

Thus, there has been produced a shoulder pad which can be made to conform to a variety of angles or curves formed at the juncture of the shoulder and the sleeve of a garment.

As change or" construction could be made within the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matters contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In the method of manufacturing a pair of shoulder pads, the steps of forming each one of a pair of panels with a substantially convexed edge, seaming the panels together at said convexed edges forming a hump-shaped blank, and

subsequently cutting said blank along a line disposed in a plane at right angles to the plane of .said seam to form a pair of opposed shoulder pad :forming members.

2. In the method of manufacturing a pair of shoulder pads; the steps of forming each one of 4 a pair of panels with a substantially convexed edge, seaming said convexed edges together so that said joined panels form a hump shaped blank, securing a filler to the under surface of said blank, and cutting said blank and filler along a plane disposed at right angles to a plane passing through the seam joining said panels to thereby form a pair of shoulder pads in which the crest of each pad inclines away from the plane along which the cutting step was effected.

3. In the method of manufacturing a pair of shoulder pads; the steps of forming a pair of panels each having a substantially convexed edge, seaming said convexed edges of said pair of panels together to form a hump-shaped blank, securing an elliptical filler to the under surface of said blank with the major axis of the filler underlying the seam, and cutting said blank and said filler along a plane disposed at right angles to a plane extending through the seam of the blank to thereby form a pair of shoulder pads in which a plane passing through the outer edge of each pad and the crest of the pad enclose an acute angle.

HAROLD LOPATO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Bloom Jan. 18, 1949 

